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     See the USA by road |
On the Road - Across the USA - our road trip across America, July 2009 (Originally Posted on Sunday, August 09, 2009 - 06:37 pm: reposted) iPhone Photo Log - 8K miles across America. At times it felt like we had 'seven league boots' to cover 8257 miles in 30 days, as we zipped in our peppy Ford Escape Hybrid across the American countryside from coast to coast. We traveled from the OC all the way up to southern tip of NE, and then back again, mostly hugging I-40 with some zig-zag detours, then up I-95 and down I-81. The trip was recorded on our newly released iPhone 3G S, bought two days before departure. In the pages below, we will post some of what we saw, and did, while visiting many friends and family along the way.  Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, AZ (photo by Celsia) ...more to come... On the road again... Posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - 01:56 pm: Romance of the road on Route 66. "On the road again" has always a romantic ring to it when the wheels first touch the asphalt on what promises to be a grand journey, back into the heartland of America, back into our innocence, same now as it was in Jack Kerouac's day (I'm now reading "On the Road"), the beginning of a long road trip of discovery. On the road will be found both oneself and the land, as well as the people of this great land. We first set off from California east on US Route 66 on a hot summer's day. Overenthusiastic collectors lifted most if not all the road signs of Rte 66, but some they could not remove.  C. at dusk in Mojave desert, CA It was still hot at sunset, over 100F, but it almost felt good. "Dry heat" don'tya know? ... Yeah... nope, it was hot. On the way back we came across loads of Sonoran desert toads... but that's another story. iPhone GPS help! Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 04:40 pm: Our built in GPS came in handy, though not always right on. At times we had to use the iPhone GPS to really find out where we were, or going. Of course, that is if you have the AT&T signal... or else... "You' lost, boy!"  (Celsia) BTW it helps to put in the right CD in my 4 yr old car GPS, like for New York City (which is not part of NY state!) you must load the New England CD, go figure... NYC with no streets? It also happened in Memphis, where Arkansas disk is used.. for figure. I haven't yet tried Puerto Rico or Alaska, different disks. Then again my half-brain would have been totally lost without it. The Big Texas Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 01:54 pm: Next stop, the Big Texas  Big Sky country (iPhoto taken while driving on 180, by Celsia) After baking in the Mojave, we kept to I-40 and iconic Rte 66 until we got to higher elevation at Flagstaff, AZ. Spent the night there and after breakfast at the neat Downtown Cafe, simple fare of eggs and hashbrowns, good coffee, we explored this lovely college town, hung around the old Santa Fe Rail Road train station (now Amtrak) to watch the BNSF rumble by, and then headed southeast across Arizona down Rte 180 to _Texas,El Paso.  El Paso, the Mission (Celsia) It's a big state! But the drive along 180 was fun, mostly higher elevations so not too hot, and rewarded with some grand thunderstorms in the distance, even caught a few drops ourselves. When we got to New Mexico border the road went into a drop that took us down the Gila National forest, beautiful drive, down to the San Francisco river which has hot springs, all lovely drives all the way to Silver City, NM. But this state is nothing like the next one, Texas. Now, that is a Really Big state. Starting from El Paso, where we visited a friend, Terri, and spent a couple of delightful days sightseeing the old mission town, enjoying delicious home cooked meals, what a gracious host. From his home we could see into three states: Texas, New Mexico, and old Mexico. Then we headed northeast to Carlsbad, NM to visit another dear friend, George. There we all three visited the great Carlsbad Caverns. The great cave, at a constant cool 57F, is the size of eight football fields!  El Capitan, Guadalupe Mountains - photo by Celsia while we're zipping by at 80 mph (where my very dear buddy Wayne and I climbed atop and camped there, once upon a time, c. 1985)  At Carlsbad caverns, New Mexico (Celsia) Then east to Dallas, in the historic West End where our friend Happy has a lovely home there, circa 1920s. It's in a neat neighborhood replete with fine restaurants and night clubs. But it was hot and muggy, expected this time of the year. We had a fun visit at Happy's air conditioned home, along with her two pooches. Next we headed up towards Texarcana before going into Arkansas (really enjoyed the Texas Roadhouse restaurant there), rejoining I-40 at Little Rock. And this is only the half of it, more on return trip. Into America's heartland Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 01:40 pm: Into the heart of Arkansas at Opal Mae's Cafe. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Make that woman's too.  (interactive) Opal Mae's We might have never stopped at the charming little town of Russellville, AR, about half way between Fort Smith and Little Rock on I-40, had we not spent the night at a hotel there. Next day we discovered it's a lovely place, so cruised around this historic town, first by driving down to nearby Dardanelle Lake, very good for boating and fishing, and then back downtown for lunch. We had settled at first on the rail Depot restaurant we read about in a local brochure and in fact enjoyed our visit there, a fun place and got to toot the whistle. However, it was too busy so decided to try another restaurant we saw earlier, Opal Mae's Cafe. What a charming discovery! We truly were charmed by the friendly staff and really enjoyed the delicious buffet style lunch. The staff and place had that ubiquitous Arkansas charm about them, which made us feel instantly at home. We had stumbled into America's heartland and richly rewarded by their warmth and generosity. A most pleasant surprise on this road journey across our great land.  (photo by Celsia) Dennis Martin, proprietor chef, on right We learned Dennis Martin is locally renown, and experienced at restaurants in Dallas, Albuquerque and other cities, with a fine reputation well deserved. The food was great. As valued guests, some things were given to us for free, with these words for the road "That's Arkansas for you." We were truly charmed. That's Arkansas for you! We loved it. Gone Country dude Posted on Sunday, September 13, 2009 - 06:59 pm: Gone Country in Tennessee, Music cities Memphis and Nashville. Once over the Mississippi at Memphis, TN (music link), we were pleasantly surprised by the music ambience of the city, cool little trolley cars, and of course Beal Street. But could anyone drive here without visiting Elvis and Graceland? Of course not! (Photos below by Celsia)   Big Elvis at Memphis visitor center; BB King's on Beal Street   At Graceland cafe; with Elvis's plane the Lisa Marie   Street car named Desire? - Beale Street 'nailed' - don't drink & drive! Nashville surprised also for being such classy city filled with music. It's everywhere, and party town as well. Missed Grand Ole Opry, though, no time.  Nashville cool dude street musician   Night life horse doggie; exact replica of the Parthenon! We enjoyed walking along the banks of the Mississippi, as well as along the banks of the Cumberland in Nashville, where there is a rebuilt old pioneer fort on the riverside park. We really loved both places, but Nashville stole our heart. Cool! Back East Posted on Sunday, September 27, 2009 - 02:24 am: The Great Smokies, and Cherokee Nation. (Photos by Celsia)  (interactive) The Smoky Mountains, a beautiful US National Park After traversing the country from the West coast to the Mississippi, there was a feeling of vastness, of great open spaces all desert brown, long stretches in between centers of habitation, and big skies. Once we got back to the East, it felt different somehow. Perhaps we noticed it earlier, but didn't really pay attention, like when we crossed over into Memphis. But by the time we hit Knoxville, TN, we knew we were back East. The Blue Ridge mountains were just over the green horizon, just over those trees, and the Great Smoky Mountains were just south of us. We already noticed by Arkansas how much water there was, so unlike the West where water is scarce. By the time we were riding up into the Smokies, water was everywhere, in rivers, small streams, lakes, there was all this water, it hung in the air. And the land was green! It almost hurt the eyes to see so much green.  Smokies, picnic by the stream  She Rides a Hog - teddy bear rides rear saddle Another thing is the East is crowded. Even in places like Pigeon Forge, TN, it was ram packed with people and structures, mostly motels, eateries, and amusement parks. It was actually kind of ugly and we hurried through, though first stopped at the Old Mill on the Little Pigeon river, also disappointing it was so changed and built up from what I remembered thirty years ago. Then we drove into the cool of the Smoky mountains and were glad to leave all the desolation of ugly development behind, until we arrived at Gatlinburg. It was more of the same, though not as tacky, still crowded with traffic, every inch built up. What would the Ogles family think now, having been the first settlers to develop this land way back? The Ogle little log cabin (1802) is still tucked away in the woods somewhere, but I wouldn't know where to look for it amidst all the hubbub of people and shops, and more amusement parks. Ripley's Museum is still there, as is the Ober tram to the mountain top... (Can't remember if I ever rode that long ago - when vacationed here during Spring break to see dogwood bloom.) But then we by-passed the town and once again found the peacefulness of the beauty of the mountain park's pristine wildness, and so we stopped at a stream side picnic area with tables, next to a space to park the car. It was not too crowded, we quickly found our spot, and spread out a picnic lunch. Except for the vicious biting flies by the stream, it was a pleasant stop, a much needed rest for the soul after the ugliness built up below. Now we were in the mountains preserved for all posterity as a park. Thank God, because it is beautiful.  Pigeon Forge Old Mill True to their name, the Smokies were cloudy with a bluish haze, but from time to time we would catch a grand vista panorama and be glad. The air felt cool, saw a few hog bikers go by, big belly friendly like, with their woman in back, or sometimes she in front. It felt good in the mountains, lovely streams bubbling by the side of the road, not too crowded here, asked a biker couple to take our picture, all friendly like, and they were happy we took one of their hog Harley-Davidson. Then we found a genuine old mill in the mountains and stretched our legs walking along the sluice ditch, gawking at the giant grist mill wheel below, peeping into the dusty windows. It looked like it was still used, and the sound of water made the place feel grand, transporting us back into another time, simpler times. The forest felt wet and green, it was peaceful, almost no one there, just us and our iPone hanging around. Then we crested over into North Carolina and Cherokee country, the town of Cherokee, in the Cherokee Nation, and we loved it! Past the touristic honky-tonk, not as bad as Pigeon Forge, there were some interesting sights, especially the richly decorated buffalo, or was it bear, at various point of the town. Can't say we really saw Cherokees there, though no doubt they were. Unlike in the West where Native Americans are distinctive in appearance, their Eastern cousins seem to have blended in somehow, or maybe that's how they always were. Still, we enjoyed our visit there, later to recall this time when we passed through Oklahoma City on our return West, and saw the same painted buffalo there, how neat those two Cherokee nations connected through their art.  Old Mill in the woods, Smoky Mountains  C. by the Old Mill (photo by Ivan)  Cherokee bear, Cherokee, NC Then we hit out for Raleigh, NC, where we were scheduled to visit friends and family. So out of the mountains and over the Blue Ridge, all the way down to what was part of the original Thirteen Colonies. We were headed back East, up the crowded eastern corridor, and up to Washington-Baltimore-New York-ville. What a crowded place that would be! Yep, it felt like we were 'back East'. Back East up the coast Posted on Thursday, October 08, 2009 - 04:38 pm: Back East, our Friends and Family, North Carolina to Massachusetts, via New York, DC, and the Poconos. We then traveled north up the East coast from North Carolina through Virginia, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, up to Mass border at Old Sturbridge, and back down to the Poconos for a few days stay at a lake. The weather was cool but mostly cooperative, we even managed a flight window with friend Wayne, flew to get breakfast at Nancy's Cafe on an air strip, where C. and I both got to fly the plane. Pilot, my good buddy Wayne, said "Your plane", as we flew over the U Mass campus at Amherst. That was our price for breakfast!   Welcome to Virginia; National Archives in DC - where I probably have a couple books shelved The whole trip up the coast reminded me of my younger days, visiting friends and family, or staying at the lake in the mountains, enjoyable all around. Only strange thing was on the Wash-New York corridor where we saw two incidences of big trucks on fire at night by the side of the road amid crush of traffic, in the dark it was eerie, weird. Great trip otherwise all around, visiting and relaxation by the lake, then headed back down South for our return trek West along Rte I-40 back to Santa Fe. It's a Big country! Here are some photos (iPhone photos taken by Celsia):   Washington DC   Richard and Donna Wed We just made the wedding at Lady Mandl's Tea Room in New York, after driving thousands of miles, to where the reverend asks "Do you Donna take this..." and of course they both answered "I do". Whew! We just made it! Beautiful wedding.   At Lady Mandl's, Lexington Ave. (by a friendly New Yorker passerby) & 'sugar love'   Breakfast at D's; Old Surbridge Village   Ready to fly   Weather good; over the Mass Pike   We got to fly -- "Your plane..." said pilot Wayne   We had breakfast at Jim's Flyin' Diner in Southbridge*; then back with Cindy's 'Miss Kitty'   Life is good by the lake, rustic cabin in Poconos (Camp Saint Basil)   By lake with Dell and Hildy   Zirka, my sweet childhood friend   Mom and I; later at pool with little Lydia   At Dino's Capri restaurant, in the kitchen making ravioli (seafood ravioli was delicious!)   Somewhere in Virginia... for lovers (photo by Ivan) We swam at the lake in the Poconos, row boated, or just listened to the night crickets and took in the cool summer air, saw lots of deer. But at Sturbridge, MA, was our turnaround, we wished we had more time to go further north, but the road back west awaited us, so with a heavy heart we began our descent back south and then west.... All the way back West. The Big West Posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 12:03 am: The Big West - from Oklahoma through Texas Panhandle, to New Mexico - It's Big country!  (all the good photos are by Celsia - but this one's mine!) You know you're back out West when you see the big trains again. The line parallels much of Rte I-40, so we saw many of them, like the BNSF, sometimes every 20 minutes. They would blow their horn through crossings, but otherwise like distant lumbering chains they dragged their burdens across the plains. By the time we got to Oklahoma City we knew by the large flat land, now brown under big sky, we had reached the big West. We were in the prairies of the lower Great Plains. But the city had a pleasant surprise for us, its art.     The artistic Cherokee spirit lives on in Oklahoma   The West was hard won, and lost too It got drier as we kept riding, by the time we reached Amarillo, TX, it felt like desert again. This was one artistic expression hard to beat, Cadillacs 'Texas stonehenge',     Big cowboy at Amarillo, best catfish west of the Mississippi We had no real troubles with our hybrid, except for a flat tire at Cucumcari, NM. They tried fixing it, even sold us a big trucker tire gage, but it slow leaked all the way to California, dang. So we kept stopping looking for air to fill it, which was worrisome at times.   Slow leak, easy rider - no worries At Santa Rosa, NM, we happened upon a great swimming hole, clear cold water. The Blue Hole apparently is an underground river cavern surfacing here, used by both swimmers having fun, and scuba divers to explore its 80 ft depth. C. couldn't resist!   Fun, but brrrrr... too cold for me! We stopped at Cline's Corner before heading north into Santa Fe. There over dinner we met an affable trucker, Olin, who was making a run to San Diego with cargo of packing styrofoam. Great guy, and he too was using an iPhone on his rig, for both contact with the world and its GPS. Instant friends.   Road mate trucker, back on 66 We headed into a fabulous storm out of Santa Fe.  (spectacular photo by Celsia) We made it to Santa Fe! This is a place dear to us, because it is where we were married, and also have many many friends.    At Howell art gallery, St. Francis Cathedral; founder Bishop Lamy was from my boyhood Auvergne, France   La Fonda Hotel, where we used to country dance with our old friend Benny Gallegos; vigas We met up with friends in Espanola (near _New_Mexico,La Puebla where C. and I met 15 years ago), long time dear friends. Time to take in some good hiking, and party!    Dear friends Marco and family, hiking in nearby 'badlands'   The famous Chocolate Maven, Santa Fe; in the kitchen We could not visit Santa Fe without stopping at our favorite lake in New Mexico, Lake Abiquiu made famous by Georgia O'Keefe, who lived and painted at the Ghost Ranch.  Lake Abiquiu   Entrance to Ghost Ranch, faux log cabin (was used in "City Slickers" film as prop)   Mesa at Ghost Ranch, overlooking Lake Abiquiu And this is where Ivan and I met, La Puebla, NM. It was a chance meeting, me staying at a B&B taking pictures of the 'badlands', and Ivan jogging with two wolf dogs, Karu and Gentle. Anyway, the badlands was his playground, so it was fitting we should meet here, me from Rome, he from New England... who'd know?  The badlands at La Puebla, near Chimayo, NM   Where we met, where I lived 'rough' -rented the attic- but had great view of the mountains!   Santa Fe is a beautiful place, with good friends Ted & Doris   Susan and her mother Kate, very dear old friends; at Sikh temple in Espanola We headed up to visit a friend in Los Alamos, Dale, and his very fun farm 'up on the hill'.   Black Mesa at San Ildefonson pueblo (there's a cave near top, climbing forbidden, sacred mountain), cliffs near Los Alamos But it was soon time to move on, we hated to go since this is such a fun and memorable place for us, with lots of friends. We still had friends north to Taos, and south, we could not see, another time. But the road called, iPhone at the ready, still more to see of the Big West. Our destination next was Holbrook, AZ (Horsehead Crossing), and then down to Salome, with its famous Sonoran desert frogs. By now we had done over seven thousand miles, had a slow leaky tire, but refreshed we were good to go. somewhere 'in the West' Posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 01:40 pm: Somewhere in the West...  A grand blessed sky (photos by Celsia - and the iPhone) On a personal note, I should mention something of why we did this trip besides the shear joy of travel and seeing friends. At times it was hard, me only seven months into recovery from stroke, my right side numb and wooden, my mind given to lapses and hallucination (dangerous driving when tired, where I would see 'exits' where none existed), so C. shared much of driving. But I would not give up on getting myself back, so rather than accepting this condition of feeling like my brain was filled with cotton, sometimes not knowing who I am and fighting depression, I had to push myself into recovery, both body and mind. Physical therapy with yoga and tai-chi, pilates, worked wonders, but I still had to regain my will, my old true sense of self. I thought doing something challenging, and fun, would force my mind to snap out of it, and become whole - C. agreed and was a great support for me. As my friend Wayne encouraged me early in my recovery, he said I would not only regain my mind, but make it better than before. In a way, I think this is happening, a "new me", thanks to all the love and encouragement I got from friends and family across the country. With the help of my doctors and nurses, I am on a good recovery curve, and whatever symptoms of stroke I still suffer, I should not be too hard on myself, because I am getting better. At times I got lost, so the GPS helped (had two, in car and iPhone, which C. handled expertly), and frequent walks helped me when I got stiff. I will be even better, and all those wonderful smiles on your faces helped me get there. It's a big journey, so to all I am honored. "Thank You!" We drove hard and wanted to make Flagstaff as a point where we really started our trip (when on the leg out we then headed south Arizona and New Mexico to El Paso). But we left reluctantly our friends in Santa Fe, so got a late start, only made it to Holbrook, AZ (county seat of Navajo country), and we were glad we did. What a great little western town! It was like walking back into history of the West. It was Juan Padilla who first settled what is now Holbrook, then a crossing for cattle on the Little Colorado river, at Horsehead crossing, which had quicksand along it but was hard packed here. We met Padilla's great great grandson in a shop dedicated to local arts, and bought some souvenirs, same as at the rock shop across the street near the railroad crossing.   Padilla great great grandson, 'dinosaur' rock shop across street   Romo's restaurant, we became friends since we also know Romos in California    Some whimsy, me in old Navajo jail (closed 1976 for inhumane conditions) The old courthouse in Holbrook doubles as a interesting regional museum; the condition of the generous grant to the town be it remains a court house or land goes back to benefactor. When the old stone building started sinking into its foundation, the town was not allowed to tear it down, so they jacked it up, leaving some damage to the structure. In the basement is a giant metal cage for prisoners, nine cells but only one toilet and shower - together! But the graffiti art was amazing.    Navajo old jail graffiti art   Petrified wood was everywhere, famous Wigwam motel at Holbrook Full circle, it was time to head on to Flagstaff; really where our adventure began with the big Navajo who wanted to shack out at our motel, so had to find a police cruiser to set him straight, they left peaceably. Now down towards Quartzsite at the Colorado river, just before crossing back into California. This took us down the mountains of beautiful lush scenery into nightfall, where by the road we saw a raccoon crossing in a hurry; a stopped car just past told us they saw a mountain lion - so raccoon was not on the lion's menu that night. Stopping at a gas station as we approached Salome, AZ, we saw hopping frogs everywhere, not really knowing why they were there. Later, reading up on Sonoran toads, we realized they were desert frogs that only saw water during the rainy season, reproduced in temporary desert pools, and then went dry all year. What was interesting, however, was that in addition to their poison tongues, they secreted a gland which was used by Indians (and 1960s drug culture) as an additive to a smoke, so they had hallucinogenic properties. (Now I know why some old Indian clay pipes had a frog on them!) We then drove on and checked in at the 'International Inn' motel in Salome, we were the only guests.   Sonoran desert toad, at the International (middle of nowhere)    Big Sonoran cactus at the International, their resident parrot- a real ham; the 'other option' motel   Best ice cream in the desert, Salome  It was hot, July's very hot in the desert, so we decided to head down to the river, the Colorado on the California border, nursing our slow leaky tire. At Quartzsite we met a fellow selling rocks and things, with his Siamese cats he keeps inside the fridge to keep cool, and he told us of a nice swimming hole, so we went. "Just past the truck stop, turn (left I think), then follow the road on right past the cotton fields and look for a big tree..." (It was actually in Ehrenberg, AZ.) The swim hole was a short tributary from the main river, so no currents or whirlpools to worry us, and there was nobody there! All ours.   Man with cats, in his shop    It felt sooohh good, the Colorado - lifeline to the West And then we were in California. Here are some photos that got lost in the shuffle, better late than never.    Terri's beautiful dog, Terri in his kitchen - great chef! El Paso lights - over Juarez    With friend George in Carlsbad, steel caboose, riding shotgun As we drove towards the Pacific coast temperatures began to drop, and it smelled of the coast. Back to our world, friends and parties, the arts, and the sea.   With Marilyn at Laguna Beach art gallery, on the Pacific beach We were home, back in the OC. Thanks C., great trip! Also see Yosemite Park |